eFarmers Market

Pomonal, Victoria

Infused olives, oils and dressings 
Family run orchard for over 14 years 
Delicious, versatile and easy to use range

Crisped on a cliff! High on a Grampians cliff on a sunny day, Greg & Christina looked out over the olive orchards below and chatted dreamingly of establishing their own olive orchard and producing their own sensational olive oil! "Australian olive oil was hard to find, not all that great – and we thought we could do better (the unchallenged confidence of youth)!"

On New Years Day 1997, a search found a large and rambling property just out of the picturesque township of Pomonal, on the “main road” to Halls Gap. The views were great, the wildlife was prolific and the red gums were spectacular. Red Rock Olives was born - a generic name with tinges of the local Grampians rock, the Australian landscape, and the pictorial profile of the local skyline.

After a flurry of activity – surveying, soil sampling, fertilizing, ripping, grading, establishing an irrigation system, constructing over a kilometer of 1.8m high fencing – the first 1,500 olive trees were planted in September 1997. They struggled as rainfall tapered off in October, and by late March 400 trees had succombed to drought and attacks from corellas. Welcome to farming!! They became parents of an active little girl. Rock climbing became an event of the past.

After a hard fought couple of years, they harvested their first crop in 2000. The olive oil was sensational – fruity, pungent and aromatic. They were elated! They turned their attention to retailing the oil from a small bungalow that they had built as an extension to their diminutive farm cottage. The olive oil looked great on the shelf, but very lonely.

From the looks of concern and comments from their few customers, Greg and Christina knew they needed more than one product. So they took to pickling olives, experimenting with tapenade recipes and tasting dressings. What else they do with olive oil? Slowly a range of products was crafted.

A significant wild fire burnt through the Grampians in late January 2006. Their property was almost completely burnt on 20 January, and the olive orchard was badly damaged. Recovery took them over 4 years, as they pruned all the trees, replaced mulch and irrigation equipment, and replanted large numbers of trees.

Fourteen years on, 6,000 olive trees and 2 children later, they have built a business based around one of the worlds’ most generous trees, and now they know a lot more about olives and olive oil than they did.